One aspect of insurance you don’t hear on the radio or see on the TV is the renters/tenants packages. They’re not as glorified, but just as important as homeowners insurance policies.
When you rent an apartment, or a house, it is not just your contents insurance you need to think of. The often overlooked aspect of tenants insurance is the Liability Coverage. If you are renting a home or apartment, and you don’t have a tenants package, then you are self-insuring the risk that one day you could be sued. Having your personal items covered is wonderful, but liability coverage is critical.
The world has changed, and lawsuits are becoming increasingly common. For example, if you are renting a house and there is a fire that destroys the home not only will you be out of a home, but you will also lose all of your personal contents which may be costly to replace. More importantly, you could also be sued by the landlord or their insurance company if you were responsible for the fire. If you do not have a tenants package, you could be on the hook for a large, expensive settlement. This is a scary scenario for anyone.
Not only will the liability coverage on the tenants package come into action if your landlord sues you, the liability will follow you globally in the event someone decides to sue you for another covered incident.
Another important aspect of Tenants Packages that is not well discussed is your ability to create habitational insurance experience, saving you money when you purchase your first home. When you make the plunge and buy your first home, you could be in for a bit of a sticker shock when it comes to your first insurance policy. If you have an existing tenants package, that experience will go a long way towards saving you money on your home insurance. Insurance companies want people with insurance experience, and a tenants policy can create the experience before you actually buy a home.
For the relatively small premium charge for a tenants package, you could also get a discount on your auto insurance policy. The majority of insurance companies offer a “Multi-Line” discount for having your home and auto with the same company. These discounts can be anywhere from 5% to 17.5% depending on the company. In many cases, the discount for adding the tenants package almost pays for a tenants package itself.
If you don’t have a tenants package now, it is not too late. You can call your local broker and get them to quote out the tenants package for you. If you are currently without a broker, give us a call to get your quote today.
Research your insurance options before you rent.